Elderly terrier with digestive troubles and lump on face--UPDATE--It's an abcess!

That looks like it!  what was the diagnosis?

You and I posted about the same time...I edited that picture post because I meant to add the diagnosis.

I've got some questions:
 
1.  When the dog throws up -- how long AFTER it has eaten?  And is what is thrown up totally undigested (even hours later?)  That's a critical question actually.
 
2.  Take a look under the lip at the tooth kinda 'under' the lump.  HOw does it look?  Such a lump CAN be a sore tooth (Dyan thanks for mentioning that).  Can be, might not be, but that would be an easy 'good' answer (very treatable and not expensive).
 
General thots --
 
Often dogs will 'last' as long as you encourage them to -- this dog needs a few things:  it needs a senior blood panel done to determine general health (that's about $120).  This dog probably also needs a dental -- dog dental health is KEY to longevity -- the teeth are totally connected to good heart health.
 
GENERAL COMMENT:
 
cakana and others -- YES, altho no one wants to commit to actual "studies show" -- there is solid evidence pointing to food as a cause for canine cancer. 
 
A lot of companies are using BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin -- and in many places they don't even have to put it on the label!!  The law often reads that a company only has to label those ingredients THEY add.  So if a company is buying meat already preserved with those things then THEY don't have to report them on their packaging. 
 
Hills tends to at least admit they put it in their food -- the Proctor and Gable companies don't (Iams and Eukaneuba).
 
I had a Hills rep tell me once that "even HUMAN food has those preservatives -- TWINKIES have those preservatives!!  So how is it harmful for dogs?? It's such a tiny amount".
 
My answer is that I don't LIVE on a diet of solely Twinkies!!  Dogs are LIVING on these foods.  Day in and Day out.  And LONG TERM there is where the problem lies -- long term exposure to these carcinogens. 
 
Make sense?

OK, first and foremost, thank you so much to all of you who have given me such thoughtful responses on this.  You can't imagine being at work and worried and knowing that the best you can be doing at that very moment for your sick pet is Internet research. 
 
A few updates:
 
1. When I got home from work, Max seemed to be doing great.  He had taken a walk with my mother, no more throwing up, etc.  He was energetic, his hyper-happy self.  Whatever is wrong doesn't seem to be getting him down.
 
2. My mom has a vet appointment for tomorrow, she's getting a complete check, including the senior blood panel and will get the doctor's recommendation on the dental work.  I'll let you all know how that goes.
 
3. And perhaps most importantly, when I got home after visiting my boyfriend tonight, Max's lump was bleeding.  Not seriously or anything, but oozing, and it was definitely blood.  So I wonder if it's an injury of some sort, maybe?  Any thougts on that?
 
4.  We feed Max Pro Plan's senior dog formula.  Not Science Diet.  Always Pro Plan, so I guess I remembered wrong!
 
And regarding calliecritturs' questions:
 
Honestly, I don't know about when the throwing up occured in relation to when he ate.  I know that on the first occasion, we had given him some treats about 45 min before and he had also had the rest of his dinner a little while before that...  I was told that it looked undigested, but I didn't see it myself. 
 
On the second occasion, I'm not sure if it was undigested or not--I will have to ask my brother.  But he ate his dinner an hour or two after it, eagerly.
 
Thoughts about that?  And the bleeding of his bump?
 
Thanks, once again, everyone!

My answer is that I don't LIVE on a diet of solely Twinkies!! Dogs are LIVING on these foods. Day in and Day out. And LONG TERM there is where the problem lies -- long term exposure to these carcinogens.

Make sense?

Thanks Callie - it's sad that it's seen as okay in that frame of thinking (by dog food manufacturers) but it does explain how they manage to sleep at night [].  Makes even more of a case for home prepared diets for me.

hard to say,,,he could have scratched at it!   When Bubblegum had her bump and they drew blood from it, the vet was happy because to her it looked like it was not infected.  So blood COULD be a good sign,,,but the vet will know, so try not to worry!

Yeah, me too!!  (and I never DID like Twinkies LOL) -- but if I make it I KNOW what went in it!!
 
NoOtherOne -- the thing about the undigested food -- there are certain serious problems that have as a key symptoms throwing up food MANY hours later (like 12 hours later) but the food is completely undigested.  That can be renal and liver problems both.  So, you might ask the family to keep that one in mind -- it's only important if it was several hours later and the food was surprisingly undigested. 
 
The things you LEARN on here sheesh!!

Thanks for all of the replies everyone.  My guess would be that the regurgitation, at least the one I was at home for, occurred about two hours after he ate.

The lump looks about the same this morning--sore, and you can see where it's been bleeding. 

I hope he'll be OK...

let us know what the vet says!

I will definitely let you know!  My mom is at the vet right now, but unless she calls me, I think I'm going to wait until I get home from work to find out the news, because I don't want to be sobbing at the office...

UPDATE:

My mom called during my lunch break, after returning from her vet visit. It is indeed an abcess. He is otherwise in good health, and will have the abcess removed (as well as any other rotting teeth) tomorrow. The vet is optimistic that the surgery should be fine, because of his otherwise good health, so I am generally relieved, though I won't totally breathe easy until the surgery is over!

For any of you whose dogs have had abcess's removed, what was the recovery like?

Thanks so much, all of you!

Hello, sorry I didn't get here before, but gosh, I'm so relieved this isn't something major.
 
I had a foster pup returned to me and he had an abcess.  Since he was going under anyhow, had him nuetered at the same time and he never missed a beat.  Was quite put out that he had to be crated the night of surgery.
 
One of my cockers had to have over HALF of his teeth pulled....gosh, had I known then what I know now....but in those days no one even TALKED about dental care for dogs.....

Thanks, Glenda!

Yeah, Max is going to be sad about spending tomorrow at the vet (he's not spending the night, but we're bringing him in the morning, and he won't be done until eveningish), but at least he gets to sleep at home, and I'm relieved that it wasn't a tumor or something.

Isn't it a relief that it's "just a tooth"?  I'm sure HE doesn't feel that way, but gosh, it could have been so much worse!  My cocker who lost so darned many teeth didn't miss a beat either.....oh, the one thing they did tell me after Tylers abcess was to soften his kibble with water for a few days, which I did do.
 
He'll be out of it or still groggy most of the time he's there so he won't be too terribly unhappy!  Do be sure tho that they put him on antibiotics so those germs from his teeth don't have the chance to cause any other problems.

I'm so glad to hear that it's nothing major! Best of luck with his dental.

I hope you stick around and keep us updated on Max, and keep posting pictures[]